[sportsfan2006]

By Tim Robertson
Inspin.com/WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Cup wins count for nothing in the league, but Manchester United took another big step towards the Premiership crown with Sunday’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup Third Round.

The reason – Henrik Larsson.

The veteran Swedish striker made his debut for the Red Devils after joining from Helsingborgs on a three-month loan and quickly demonstrated why Sir Alex Ferguson has been so excited by his arrival.

Larsson slotted straight into the United attack, linking up with Wayne Rooney like they had been playing together for years, and scoring his first goal for the club in the 55th minute with a brilliant bit of skill.

"This was a real Henrik goal. There was no drawback. He guided the ball into the corner of the net,” said Ferguson. "His decision-making and movement were terrific. That's the thing that sticks out in my mind.

"He will be a great asset to us, I have no doubts about that."

With Louis Saha sidelined for a stretch with a groin injury and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer only just back from an injury himself, Larsson’s arrival is perfectly timed to give United a boost going into the second half of the season. He gets another shot at Aston Villa on Saturday back in Premiership play; WagerWeb.com lists the Red Devils at -400.

At 35, Larsson no longer has much pace, but he has always relied on guile to cause defenders problems.

He perhaps wasted much of his career at Celtic – the Scottish Premier League was never worthy of his talent – but showed what he could do on the big stage in a brief spell with Barcelona which ended last summer.

It was his performance in the Champions League final – when he came off the bench to turn the game in Barca’s favour against Arsenal – that persuaded Ferguson to try and sign him.

Whether he can play like he did on Sunday every week remains to be seen. He was well rested as this is the Swedish off-season, and feasted on Villa’s young defence, but United have plenty of reasons for optimism.

The loan period might now be extended until the end of the season after Helsingborgs chairman Sten-Inge Fredin said he would not block such a move.

"If he wants to stay, then we'll open that discussion with United. We will not stand in his way," said Fredin.

Larsson, speaking after Sunday’s game, said he still intended to be back in Sweden for the start of the Allsvenskan season, but if he does enough to help United pull further clear in the title race, surely he will want to stick around and earn his winner’s medal.

These are worrying times for United’s title rivals.





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